“What is your deepest desire? Probably the same thing most others really
want: a happy and fulfilled life. When we don't experience life as happy and
fulfilled, our tendency is to look for someone or something to blame, our
parents, our boss, the government, an adversary, and a lengthy list of
others.

However, even if and when we identify someone to blame, we
are struck with with the stunning truth that we have zero power to change
those people or conditions. And so we feel powerless. That feeling stops
now.

In the pages that follow, you will see that you have all the
power you need… And when you take control… by understanding and
steadfastly following the New Rules of Thinking in this book, you will see
miraculous results.” —Excerpted from the Introduction (page xiii)

If you’re in the market for a positive thinking self-help primer,
It All
Begins with ‘I’ certainly fits the bill. The book was written by Stuart K.
Robinson, a motivational speaker and life coach who has inspired folks all
over the world with his “New Rules of Thinking.” Now, Mr. Robinson has
reduced those 14 affirmations to an easy-to-digest format for those who
can’t come to see him in person.

You've probably heard most of his
common sense advice before in one form or another. Take, Rule #6: “I Will
Fire the Announcer.” By that, the author means ignoring that distracting,
negative voice in your head capable of discouraging you via a defeatist
attitude. He suggests that, instead, you “Trust your heart, because you feel
it.”

Robinson's other axioms range from “I Will Determine My Habits”
to “I Will Believe in Myself” to “I Am Who I Think I Am, and I Get What I
Expect.” In terms of more innovative ideas, he devotes an entire chapter to
the difference between the “I” (good) and “Me” (bad) mentalities.

Previously, I always assumed that the distinction between those first person
pronouns was merely grammatical. But the author makes a persuasive case for
eschewing the latter one, suggesting that having limiting thoughts like
“What about me?” can be very self-destructive.

Robinson closes his
optimistic opus with a trio of big secrets: the secret to a happy life, the
secret to getting anything you want in two weeks, and the secret to finding
out who you really are. Far be it from me to spoil those tips beyond
relating that “happiness is yours” provided you follow Mr. Robinson's
step-by-step path to total bliss.